Wednesday at the Metro

[mods_in_space]

If New Tokyo was the glossy surface of Miranda and Siam the seedy underbelly, the Underground was the pulsing heart of the planet. A constant flow of trains, of people, of life, the Metro never slept. Sitting on one of the old benches lining the whitewashed walls, under a flat screen advertisement looping through ads for dermal implants and virtual

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[its_all_numb3rs]

Charlie loves the underground. It's the only time he can be surrounded by people and not feel like an outsider looking in.

He knows all the right times to travel, which trains are the most reliable and which have a tendency to break down or run slow. Charlie has it all memorized, and if he could ever get himself out of his office at a normal hour, he could have his commute perfected.

With his headphones on, he stares at the advertisements as they flash at him, reading the slogans and watching the frighteningly happy people try and sell him things he'll never use. Though he is thinking about getting a new com-unit sometime soon...

The train lurches to a stop and Charlie slides a little on the hard plastic seat, bumping hard into the person next to him.

"Sorry," he says quickly. "Really, sorry."

[enabler_md]

Wilson wasn't paying attention and the body suddenly against him roused him from the daily news he'd been reading. He looked up blankly, then nodded and offered a weak smile. "No problem. No harm done," he said softly, shifting over a little.

[its_all_numb3rs]

With his headphones on, Charlie had only seen the week smile and mouthed words, and he slipped the small speakers from his ears with an apologetic look. "You'd think with all the technological advances in transportation, we'd have finally developed a train that doesn't cause motion sickness and the potential threat of being thrown through the door as it jerks to a stop. Sometimes I wonder the board of public transportation just doesn't believe in physics."

[enabler_md]

"It's actually a medical conspiracy. The more injuries on the Underground, the more likely I am to make my alimony," Wilson replied, folding his paper up. "Dr. James Wilson," he added, laying his hand on his chest. "That's me."

[its_all_numb3rs]

"Oh, uh, Professor Charles Eppes," Charlie said, not realizing they were doing an actual conversation. Sometimes he needed to be cued before he'd say anything social. "What kind of doctor are you? I mean, if you don't mind me asking."

[enabler_md]

"I'm the head of the cybernetics and implants department at General, but my specialty is complications. Rejections, addiction, that kind of thing," he explained. "You teach at the U, professor?"

[its_all_numb3rs]

"I teach applied mathematics there," Charlie nods. "I do other work as well, consults, but mostly I just teach."

[enabler_md]

He looked so young. Wilson smiled and nodded, even though he felt a stab of jealously at someone so talented and humble about it.

"Where, um...where do you consult?" he asked.

[its_all_numb3rs]

"Uh, that's classified, actually," Charlie says with a sheepish look. "It's mostly just algorithms, statistics, codes, stuff like that. But for obvious reasons, I can't really talk about it."

[enabler_md]

He didn't have the head for puzzles, or the inane curiosity that House had, so that answer satisfied him just fine. "Sorry. I shouldn't have, um...sorry," he said sheepishly.

[its_all_numb3rs]

"No, no it's fine," Charlie insists.

[enabler_md]

"You might be the first person I've spoken to on the train in...months," Wilson stated, twisting a little to face him. "Of course, no one's fallen on me in longer than that," he laughed.

[its_all_numb3rs]

"That's nothing, you might actually be the first person I've spoken to on a train ever," Charlie admits awkwardly. "Uh, with the exception of people I was traveling with of course. Though, uh, not the first I've fallen on. I actually do that a lot."

[enabler_md]

Poor balance could be a symptom of a lot of different...Wilson mentally kicked himself. Not every stranger had cancer, infections, or alien parasites. The guy probably just didn't pay attention.

"For one, I'm glad you did. Not everyone who falls on me is all that interesting. You're so important, you're classified," he grinned.

[its_all_numb3rs]

Charlie somehow manages to look embarrassed and proud all at once, and he offers the other man a small smile and a shrug. "Not important, just good at what I do."